


workaholic

by dino_friends_personal_space



Category: Half-Life
Genre: pre resonance cascade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:21:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26261077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dino_friends_personal_space/pseuds/dino_friends_personal_space
Summary: Gordon has been up for a day and a half. Barney tells him to get some sleep.
Relationships: Barney Calhoun & Gordon Freeman
Comments: 1
Kudos: 41





	workaholic

36:24:14.

That’s was how long Gordon went without sleeping. As a doctoral student, it certainly wasn’t his record but it was nothing to scoff at either. Everyone else already left the lab, hours ago. His coworkers congratulated him for arriving so early but in all honestly, Gordon didn’t even leave. 

He sat down in front of the pile of papers once again and rested his face against his arm. He didn’t even feel tired despite the amount of time he had remained up. Gordon checked over the math he did again and again. The numbers weren’t even being registered at this point since he had stared at them so long they didn’t even look like numbers. 

Gordon glanced at the clock--1 am. The room’s fluorescent lighting made it look like no time passed sorta like when you enter a shopping center in the daytime and then exit it when it’s dark. He sighed, not even sure why he was still there. It wasn’t like he got paid overtime.

A harsh tap was heard on the metal door and Gordon looked up, startled. He heard the clicks of the keypad and the chime of the eye-scanner machine. 

“Hello?” Barney asked, looking around to see why the lights were still on. He spotted Gordon sitting there, still slightly frazzled. “Doc? You’re still here?”

Gordon nodded, moving to take another sip of the watered-down coffee the facility had. No sugar or creamer added because they ran out weeks ago. 

“Why are you still here?” Gordon asked.

“I just got here. Taking the graveyard shift tonight. Had to come to check out the lights.” Barney said, moving towards the desk to see what Gordon was working on. Gordon instinctively covered his work. 

“What- Relax, Doc, it’s not like I’d be able to understand all that science-quantum jazz anyway,” Barney said, pulling up a chair. Barney looked up at Gordon. Gordon, saying he looked terrible was an understatement. He wasn’t unattractive per se but now he just looked like the humanization of tired. There were dark rings under his eyes, slightly purple-tinted making it look like he got punched by the universe, telling him to sleep or at least take a nap. 

Gordon caught Barney concerned look and cleared his throat. Barney stopped staring but the worried look never left his face.

“When was the last time you slept, Doc?” Barney asked, concerned out of the well-being of his friend.

“36 hours, 27 minutes, and 24 seconds,” Gordon said with a hint of pride almost like he was reciting a mile time. That was a day and a half without sleeping. 

“And...you’ve been here for that long?” Barney said a bit horrified. Gordon nodded, giving a small smile, wearing the number of hours he hadn’t slept like a badge on honor.

“Gordon…” Barney said, sighing a bit. “That’s not something you should...be proud of. You know this.” 

Gordon looked down, feeling a little guilty. Usually, the amount of time he was up would be laughed off but Barney was his friend and cared for his well-being. Gordon knew it was bad to stay up for such long periods but it was encouraged. Working hard without any care or time to yourself--it was expected in a government facility with everything moving so fast. Plus, he was a little excited when he first stayed up way later than he should have when the red digital letters to the clock turned to 1. There wasn’t any reason but he did it anyway. Besides, it seemed normal to stay up so late based on how much everyone talked about how little sleep they got. Now, in staying up late, he could relate more to others and win in that meaningless social competition of ‘who got the least amount of sleep’. 

He felt Barney’s hand come to rest on his shoulder, giving a comforting pat.

“Gordon, I know this place works their employees to the bone but you need to relax and recharge. You can’t keep up forever.” Barney said, crouching down slightly to read the expression on Gordon’s downturned face. 

Gordon felt terrible, the coffee in his empty stomach feeling like acid. Barney confronting him and calling out his behavior made him realize how shit he felt. He didn’t eat anything today, working through the lunch break. It wasn’t like he brought anything either. Gordon rolled his shoulders back, cracking his back after being slouched over for so long. That still didn’t get rid of the feeling as if his body was deteriorating, his limbs slogging off. Gordon glanced towards Barney and rubbed his eyes, slightly jostling his glasses. 

“We all have our limits, Doc. We’re all human.” Barney said, moving to pat Gordon’s back. “Don’t worry your little head about your work too much. Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish or a waste of time, it’s necessary. ‘Sept when there’s a deadline of course.”

Gordon looked up a bit, a small smile on his lips. 

“I think we should begin heading out. You can take a nap in my office because you definitely need one, Doc.” Barney said with a chuckle as Gordon began to pack up the papers. “You don’t wanna be driving on such little sleep.”

“I have some hot chocolate too you’d probably like that more than the water-downed coffee.” Barney offered, propping the door as he waited for Gordon to finish. Gordon scampered to him, after shoving the rest of the papers into his bag. He’ll have to deal with that later but right now he just wanted out. He looked up into the starry sky, the cold yet refreshing air filling his lungs. He had been in that stuffy lab for a while. He looked at Barney with a tired yet appreciative smile on his face. 

It was time to get some sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> The message of this story is to take care of yourself, get enough sleep and fuck the workaholic "go-getter" culture.


End file.
